Olympus E-5 vs Sony A550

On this page, we are comparing the Olympus E-5 vs Sony A550, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-5 (12MP) and the A550 (14MP) is very close but the E-5 (Four Thirds) and A550 (APS-C) posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-5 was revealed 15 months after the A550 making them a generation away from each other. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the E-5 grades vs the A550 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-5 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-5 has got physical measurements of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) while the Sony A550 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-5 vs Sony A550 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-5 compared to the A550.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-5 and A550 is 58 and 63 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to picture the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by looking through specs. The pic here should provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-5 and A550.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-5 with its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony A550 will render greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The newer E-5 should have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.